"Are you scared I'll pull away if Natalia-if she-are you?" Lauren met Camila's soft gaze and watched as the brunette lifted her hand to tuck the hair behind Lauren's ear.
"Terrified," Because the last thing the pair needed was lies lingering between them. "But I'd chase after you. Run as far as you want, Laur, I'll find you."
The pair were settled in bed with Bolt curled between them. Their eyes held questions that neither knew how to answer for one another.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Camila had been hesitant to ask the question for a while but she knew Lauren would need to talk about it eventually and then seemed as good a time as any.
"No," The green-eyed woman scoffed, feeling her heart begin to race in panic at the thought of her little girl laying unconscious while doctors used every bit of the expertise to resect a tumour that was killing her a lot faster than anyone had anticipated. "But I need to take the chance, I need to be able to say I did everything to save her."
"I know," The brunette moved forward and let her lips settle on that of the woman she loved. "I'm here with you, I support you no matter what, you know that."
Lauren rolled over onto her back and it allowed Camila a moment to look at the woman beside her and be reminded of all the time Lauren had been there for her. All the times the woman had never once entertained the idea of giving up on her. It took her back years, a time where her life was darker than it had ever been and through it all, Lauren had been her guiding light. Whether it be as her friend or more.
She remembered Lauren putting her back together after Shawn, after Matthew and Lauren had been the one to get her to leave her room after the death of her own father. And that was why Camila could never leave.
Because this time around she needed to be the stronger love, she felt. Back then, Lauren had loved her enough to set her entire life aside and put her first and Camila knew it was her turn. Lauren had taught her to love herself and this time, Camila knew she could do both. She was strong enough to love herself and love Lauren.
"You told me something once," She felt her voice part her lips softly. "That I needed to be reminded that I'm amazing, that I'm more than I think I am." Green eyes turned to meet brown. "You need that reminder now. You've got this, Lauren."
And it was like they were teens again, lost in their promises of forever. Back when Camila first realised what a soulmate was simply by meeting Lauren's gaze. She remembered wishing her father's health to improve because she wanted him to run around her future house with Lauren, chasing after their future kids. She wanted the simplicity of a normal family life with the woman beside her.
She still wanted that.
"I'm sure of us, you know?" Camila almost chuckled softly at how ironic it was that she'd finally come to that conclusion after they'd found themselves in the same position as years earlier. Because back then she wasn't sure of anything aside from knowing she needed to disappear.
But she didn't want to disappear anymore. She wanted this. She wanted Lauren and Natalia and Bolt and their families and even Ashley. She wanted all of it. She was sure of it. Nothing had ever felt more certain to her.
"Marry me." Camila surprised herself as the words left her lips. But after saying them, she felt how right they were. She felt how hard she'd been suppressing them since they were kids. Because even all those years ago, she knew that this moment would one day happen. "Marry me, Lauren." Nothing made more sense to her. Their 'one day' was now. They were living their future they'd wanted all those years ago.
And yes, nothing was going exactly as planned but if there was one thing they could do...it was this.
"This is the worst timing for me to ask, I know that. I know I sound selfish and I know I could be coming off as insensitive but..." Camila watched as Lauren rolled onto her side once more so they were facing one another. "But I want us to be there for each other for all these moments; the big ones. Whether they are bad or good. We've waited so long, I think we deserve this."
